About Viet Wake UpTo introduce young Vietnamese Americans (VA) to the Wake Up Movement, which aims to create a happy, healthy and compassionate society.
To create an opportunity for the VA youths to learn about mindfulness practices that can help in your daily life, especially while in college, after college, and in your career and relationships....

About Viet Wake Up...We recognize that life can get busy. Really busy! And stressful! And overwhelming! Finding the time to pause and reflect is difficult, es­pecially amidst an ever-growing to-do list and inbox that keeps pil­ing up. But somehow you found yourself here, and for that we are grateful. ....

About Viet Wake UpYou’ve arrived at just the right time and you’re in just the right state of mind. All of the things you did prior to now are done and every­thing you need to do later can wait. You are here! ....

About Viet Wake Up...As for us, well, we’re here as well. We’re part of the Wake Up movement. We represent a world-wide network of young people practicing the living art of mindfulness. ....

About Viet Wake Up..If you know a thing or two about mindfulness, great. If you’re new to the practice, even better. The most important thing to remember about mind­fulness is that it is to be experienced. Words and people can describe it, but its true transformative power will be seen when you are able to practice it for yourself. That’s what we’re here to help you with.....

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To begin anew is to look deeply and honestly at ourselves, our past actions, speech and thoughts and to create a fresh beginning within ourselves and in our relationships with others. At the practice center we practice Beginning Anew as a community every two weeks and individually as often as we like.

We practice Beginning Anew to clear our mind and keep our practice fresh. When a difficulty arises in our relationships with fellow practitioners and one of us feels resentment or hurt, we know it is time to Begin Anew. The following is a description of the four-part process of Beginning Anew as used in a formal setting. One person speaks at a time and is not interrupted during his or her turn. The other practitioners practice deep listening and following their breath.

1) Flower watering - This is a chance to share our appreciation for the other person. We may mention specific instances that the other person said or did something that we had admired. This is an opportunity to shine light on the other’s strengths and contributions to the sangha and to encourage the growth of his or her positive qualities.

2) Sharing regrets - We may mention any unskillfulness in our actions, speech or thoughts that we have not yet had an opportunity to apologize for.

3) Expressing a hurt - We may share how we felt hurt by an interaction with another practitioner, due to his or her actions, speech or thoughts. (To express a hurt we should first water the other person’s flower by sharing two positive qualities that we have trully observed in him or her. Expressing a hurt is often performed one on one with another practitioner rather than in the group setting. You may ask for a third party that you both trust and respect to be present, if desired.)

4) Sharing a long-term difficulty & asking for support- At times we each have difficulties and pain arise from our past that surface in the present. When we share an issue that we are dealing with we can let the people around us understand us better and offer the support that we really need.

The practice of Beginning Anew helps us develop our kind speech and compassionate listening. Begin Anew is a practice of recognition and appreciation of the positive elements within our Sangha. For instance, we may notice that our roommate is generous in sharing her insights, and another friend is caring towards plants. Recognizing others positive traits allows us to see our own good qualities as well.

Along with these good traits, we each have areas of weakness, such as talking out of our anger or being caught in our misperceptions. When we practice “flower watering” we support the development of good qualities in each other and at the same time we help to weaken the difficulties in the other person. As in a garden, when we “water the flowers” of loving kindness and compassion in each other, we also take energy away from the weeds of anger, jealousy and misperception.

We can practice Beginning Anew everyday by expressing our appreciation for our fellow practitioners and apologizing right away when we do or say something that hurts them. We can politely let others know when we have been hurt as well. The health and happiness of the whole community depends on the harmony, peace and joy that exists between every member in the sangha.